Jackson and di Angelo: The Lightning Thieves
by cyddenid
Summary: A/U Zeus took control of the earth and banished his brothers Poseidon and Hades. Now, 50 years later, the two eldest gods are leading a rebellion against Olympus. Can Poseidon's son, Percy, and Hades' twin children Bianca and Nico, steal Zeus' master bolt before the Lord of the Sky uses its power to force the remaining Olympian Gods to bend to his will?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N I don't own Percy Jackson**

Prologue.

Look.

I didn't want to be part of an underground resistance attempting to kick the Lord of the Sky off his seat as Supreme Ruler of Earth.

If you're reading this with the intention of joining our rebellion, my advice to you is- don't. Swallow all the lies you're told about the subjugation of earth being a good thing, keep your head down, and try to lead a normal life.

But if you don't have any choice... If you're reading this because you're already on the wrong side of the gods and running for your life... If you're desperately seeking some advice, I'll give you some for free.

Stealing the master bolt of a tyrannical god-king is a really, _really_ bad idea.


	2. My Cousins and I go Bull Fighting

**A/N I don't own Percy Jackson. With thanks to owlgirl1998- my first review! **

Chapter One: My Cousins and I go Bullfighting

Assuming their school hasn't been swallowed by fire breathing monsters (and believes me that have happened) most people play dodge ball in their gym class. Me? I get to play dodge_ bull_. And I don't go to school.

If you're sitting there reading this and thinking '_gods, he's so lucky, he doesn't have to go to school!_' let me fill you in on what I was doing first thing in the morning on Monday June 14.

Bull fighting.

Well, I say bull fighting. What I was actually fighting was the Minotaur. Half man, half bull, ugly as Hades- uh, ooops. Sorry Uncle. By Hades I mean hell, not- never mind. Just don't incinerate me or anything, okay? Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah. The Minotaur.

His neck was a mass of muscle and fur, leading up to is enormous head, which had a snout as long as my arm, snotty nostrils with a gleaming brass ring, cruel black eyes, and horns-enormous black-and-white horns with points you just couldn't get from an electric sharpener. He was seven feet tall, easily. He was pulverising me and my cousins, easily. My cousins, Nico and Bianca- the di Angelo twins- were doing their best: using shadow travel to disappear and reappear to try and confuse the monster; summoning waves of zombie warriors out of the ground to help with the fight. (Their dad is Hades. They can do that sort of thing) but those sorts of tricks take energy, and I could see them draining pretty fast. As for me, I needed a good dousing of saltwater (son of Poseidon, if you hadn't guessed) and quickly. We were fighting in a rubble filled street and the Minotaur liked throwing things. Early on into the battle I'd been hit with a load of rocks. Fighting when you're cut up, bruised, battered and tired is never a good idea. But we didn't have any choice. The monster was straying dangerously close to the boundaries of Camp Antarsia.

Camp Antarsia is the place my dad and Uncle Hades set up after they failed to stop Zeus forcefully taking over the earth and had to flee Olympus. It's a haven for anyone who gets on Zeus' bad side- nature spirits, demi-gods like me and the di Angelos, mortals, who have it, pretty bad under Zeus' rule. My dad met my mom, Sally Jackson, when she and her friend, Maria di Angelo (yeah, Nico and Bianca's mom) turned up, having fled from the harem of the gods. The camp is great - Antarsia means rebellion and that's what we do, rebel against Zeus. But two renegade gods and a bunch of half-bloods attract monsters. And monsters attract other demi-gods, the ones from Camp Half-Blood, the ones loyal to Olympus. We can't risk having them near our borders.

So. The di Angelos and I get monster fighting duty. Bad guys get too close to our borders and we kill them. Theoretically, anyway. Like I said before, things weren't going our way with the Minotaur.

Ground Beef boy bellowed, and swiped at Bianca. She flew several feet through the air and crashed onto the floor. She rolled to one side and winced. Then she disappeared- shadow travelling- and didn't pop up somewhere else. She'd retreated, then. Fair enough. Nico disappeared from behind the Minotaur's line of sight, appearing at my side. He looked worn out, and was covered in dust, sweat and grime. Still, he grinned boyishly. "Want to finish this, cuz?" he asked, lifting his sword, _Koraki_. The stygian iron glowed slightly. I grinned in reply, lifting my own sword _Anaklusmos _- Riptide. The swords were presents from our fathers. Our mothers had nearly killed them. "Ready?" I asked. We knew each other well- when death seemed imminent- like now- we would go down fighting shoulder to shoulder. 9 times out of ten, we come out on top after our 'final' stand. The other times, Hades bails us out, having the god of the underworld as your uncle/father is pretty handy sometimes. We got ready to charge.

And the Minotaur turned to dust with a hiss like sand going through a fan. We blinked in surprise at the silvery figure standing with an arrow notched in her bow string. She seemed to be a girl of about fourteen; fifteen, but we knew her better than that. We knelt hastily. "Lady Artemis" we greeted, wondering why she would risk exile by coming to Antarsia. All the major gods - Hera accepted- visited from time to time, aiding the rebellion when it needed extra help - but only if we were desperate. They disliked what Zeus had done to the mortal world- but for them to risk his wrath things had to be really, really desperate.

"Cousins" Lady Artemis said, her voice filled with worry and fear. "I must speak to thy fathers as a matter of great urgency. My lord and father - thy uncle, Zeus- but that is a matter for Lord Poseidon and Lord Hades to know before thee. Come, quickly." She instructed. Nico and I rose, hastily, and exchanged fearful glances. Artemis was _never_ scared, and gods weren't allowed t interfere in fights between monsters and demi-gods like she had just done, not ever. There were sacred rules. What had led Artemis to break them? What could our Uncle possibly be doing now? And then a thought occurred to me. _'That is a matter for Lord Poseidon and Lord Hades to know before thee'_, Artemis had said. **Before**, is in at some point we would find out. That could only mean one thing.

What was coming would involve us.


	3. My Uncle becomes a Doomsday Prophet

**A/N. I don't own Percy Jackson. (Jay is mine though.) Thank you so much to everyone who reads this story- especially those of you who've left a review!**

Chapter Three

Hades was waiting for us at camp Antarsia's borders. My uncle is at least three metres tall and dresses in black silk robes and a crown of braided gold. His skin is albino white, his hair shoulder-length and jet black. He radiates danger and power, and his aura makes you want to bow down and serve him as if he and he alone is worthy of being your master. He is terrifying. Right up until the moment he darts forward and grabs his son in tight embrace as if he's afraid that if he lets go, Nico will crumble into nothing but dust. He does the same with Bianca, and occasionally me if I've been doing something really, really risky. It seriously ruins his image.

Eventually, he let Nico go, smiled at me, and then turned to Artemis.

"Niece" he greeted coolly.

Artemis bowed "Uncle, I must talk with thee and my lord Poseidon. Thy brother Zeus... "

"Let me guess" Hades said in a bored tone. "Take over the world, kick his brothers of Olympus, and get away with it because none of the other gods are brave enough to stand up to him..."

My uncle holds a serious grudge against, well. Anyone he can get away with holding a grudge against really.

Artemis flushed. "Uncle, please. The entirety of Olympus is in peril, if thy brother's scheme succeeds, you and the Lord Poseidon may well be the only two other real gods left in existence, and I cannot even guarantee that."

Hades nodded slowly. "Well then niece. Let us discuss your problem with my brother." He looked past Artemis to us. "Bianca's waiting for you in the hospital wing"

"Is she-"Nico Began?

"She's fine" Hades reassured him.

I could see the relief on Nico's face. We were trained not to allow ourselves to feel overwhelming concern whilst in combat - being too worried about each other getting killed is likely to lead to our own deaths (This one time, Nico and I were so worried about Bianca that we both dived to pull her out of the way of this tongue of fire, banged in to each other and went crashing to the ground, where we were nearly stepped on by a giant, fire breathing duck. Man, that was embarrassing. Not least because whilst we were on the floor with mild concussion, Bianca finished the monster off.) Anyway, now we were out of the battle with the Minotaur, we were allowed to feel as worried as we liked- and, whilst we weren't overly concerned that Bianca might have some mortal wound - if she did she wouldn't have been able to shadow-travel; it takes up to much energy- if anything _had_ gone badly wrong, and we'd lost Bianca...

Hades led Artemis to the Big House, where he and my dad lead the command of Antarsia. Nico and I, meanwhile, sprinted to the Hospital Wing.

The Hospital "Wing" is a huge building, big enough for everyone in the camp - around three hundred - people- to have two beds each. I don't know why dad and Uncle Hades built it so big, they clam up whenever Bianca or Nico or I try and get them to talk about the camp's early beginnings. The rooms, which for the most part are like dormitories with six beds each- are always kept spotless- except for one. Ours.

Yeah, Nico, Bianca and I have our own personal hospital room. Our parents did it up when we were stuck there for three months thawing out after an encounter with the goddess of snow. Dad said that given how much time we spent there, we may as well stay in the hospital. It was a joke, but we thought the idea of having our own privet hospital room was kind of cool. So. One spotless hospital with the exception of one room which has a sign on the door saying

Nico, Bianca and Percy are either critically ill or bunking off classes. Either way, we're armed with a dozen skeletons and half a bottle of water- Enter at your own risk!

We barged in to the room to find Bianca laughing and holding with this guy we'd never seen before. "What the hell-?" I said.

Bianca looked up and blushed, jumping to her feet. "Um, hey." She squeaked. "This is uh... this is Jay."

I'd like to say I took walking in to a room and seeing my cousin with some random guy I didn't know well. The truth is, I wanted to feed this guy - Jay - to the pet hammerhead shark my dad built an aquarium for after it tried swimming up river to be with me. I wanted to uncap Riptide (did I mention it turns in to a pen?) and run him through with it. I was feeling insanely jealous, which was kinda weird. I mean, Bianca's... Bianca. We're practically siblings. It's not like I think of her like anything more. Although she is pretty. Insanely pretty. Okay. Now I'm beginning to sound like some cheesy Aphrodite kid. Let's change the subject.

Nico was looking annoyed. "You alright, _Sis_." He said a little too loudly. "I mean, you retreated out of the battle, so I kinda assumed..."

Now Bianca looked annoyed. "I'm fine." She snapped. "I was tired, that's all. Jay's seeking refuge from hostility_ outside_ the camp. It's a pity he's only changed it for hostility within it- "

"Whatever." Snapped Nico, his dark eyes begin to smoulder. He turned to Jay. "So how come you were in trouble on the outside?" It's a question I'd heard him as a thousand times, but this time there was no curiosity. Nico was throwing down a challenge.

Jay shrugged. "I guess I annoyed the wrong people." He said. There was a moment's awkward silence, hostility crackling in the air like oil being heated in a pan. In the quiet, I began to notice things about Jay. He was muscular, and tense like he was expecting a fight. He seemed weary of Nico, which was understandable, but he also looked as if he were seizing the son of Hades up. And the way he was standing, with Bianca almost hidden behind him... it was almost predatory. I didn't like him - and not just because he seemed so close to Bianca. He was dangerous.

Finally, Jay shrugged. "Look." He grinned apologetically. "Bianca was just being friendly, I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to be doing around here, she materialized practically on top of me earlier -"

Whoa. Back up there. Earlier!? As in today!? No way should he be that close to Bianca that quickly. I could tell by the way that Nico's hands clenched suddenly that he was coming to the same conclusions as I was.

"-so we just started talking." Jay continued "Look, I really don't want to make trouble, so ... if there's a problem, I'll leave. If not-" he stuck out his hand. I really hate it when people you don't like are reasonable. It makes it harder to wrench their hand off when they give it to you to shake. Nico reluctantly took it - which was probably more to do with the glares Bianca was giving him then any eagerness to make nice.

For a moment, everything seemed fine.

Then Nico snarled.

It was a feral, sudden sound, and Nico pulled back like he'd touched a candle. He retreated to the back wall, the snarl twisting his face. He was breathing heavily, as If a tonne of adrenaline had began coursing through his body.

"Nico!" Yelled Bianca. "What the Hades is up with you!"

"Get him out. Get him out!" Nico yelled.

Bianca opened her mouth to say something biting but I cut in. "Sorry, man, it's probably best if you leave." I said to Jay, trying to sound apologetic. "It looks like he's having some sort of seizure or something-"

"Shall I call a medic?" Jay asked

"It'll be fine." I said

"Okay." He looked at Bianca."I'll see you soon" he promised.

Bianca nodded, her lips still slightly parted. Then Jay slipped out the room. Nico collapsed, sitting against the wall, shivering slightly. He clasped his knees to his chest, like a child trying not to be noticed.

"What is up with you!" Bianca screamed again.

"Wrong. Felt cold." Nico mumbled. "Felt horrible, like being frozen. Like being locked in the deepest, darkest dungeon in the underworld."

Bianca looked at him sceptically. "He felt fine to me."

Nico's head shot up. "Yeah, I could see that!" He snapped. "What were you doing with him alone in here anyway?"

"Who are you - Lady Artemis?"  
"She's here, by the way." I said quickly, before Nico could retort and the pair of them flew in to a five scale argument. Even Hades makes himself scarce when his kids fight.

Bianca looked across at me, her rage slipping away to be replaced by confusion.

"Lady Artemis?" She asked. "But why would one of the Olympians be here.? The other gods never come unless-"

At that point, Hades materialized out nowhere and announced "The world's going to end".


	4. We Receive a (possibly literal) Deadline

**A/N I Don't own Percy Jackson**

Well. That's nice to know. Mondays are completely and utterly boring unless you learn Armageddon's about to take place.

I actually quite like boring.

Bianca stopped glaring at her twin and turned to gawp at her father. Nico stood up and dusted himself off, coming to stand next to me.

"The world's gonna end? Seriously?" he asked, as if he were hoping Hades was joking. Mind you, Hades telling a joke would probably _cause _the end of the world- the universe would implode from shock.

"Well, probably not end." Hades admitted, although he still sounded grim. "You need to come to the Big House, Poseidon and I will explain what's going on in more detail there." He turned to leave the room, and then paused. "Actually..." he muttered.

The world seemed to shift and spin, as my sight clouded over and the shadows closed in. There was an unpleasant sensation- like I was an ice-cream melting on the pavement and sinking into cracks in the ground, and then-

"Whoa." I slurred as my line of sight cleared slightly. The world seemed to be spinning round me at a million miles an hour. I stumbled slightly, grabbing Nico for support. He to seem to be having trouble staying upright.

"And this, brother." Came an amused, very familiar voice "is why you shouldn't try to show off" My dad grabbed my shoulder gently and I felt the power of the sea flood through me, unscrambling my brain cells. I blinked rapidly several times, my vision returning clearly enough to realise we were in the Big House.

"I was _not_ showing off!" Hades grumbled.

My dad raised an eyebrow. "Shadow-travelling halfway across camp with three teenage demi-gods alongside you isn't showing off?"

Hades scowled. "Given how short we are on time, brother, I was attempting to save some."

Looking back on it, Bianca, Nico and I should have ran straight back to our hospital wing and hope our parents would temporarily forget we existed. When immortal beings talk about running short of time, you know there's a problem- especially when one of them's already said that the world's going to end. Instead, Bianca said apprehensively "What do you mean, we don't have much time?"

My dad sighed. "Your cousin Artemis-"

"She said something about Zeus." I interrupted.

"What?!" Bianca said "Artemis mentioned something about Zeus? Why didn't you tell me this?"

"You were talking with you new friend Jay." Said Nico

"Jay?" Hades asked, suspiciously.

"New camper." I said quickly. I glanced at Nico. "Nico said he felt off."

"He felt _fine_." Snapped Bianca

"You were feeling him?!" Hades growled

"What? No! Nico shook his hand and went mental, ask him what it's all about not me, seriously, we were just talking, I am allowed to _talk_ to people-"

"Meanwhile, Zeus is planning to increase his grip on the world be using the charge from his master volt to power a machine that will send out a hypnotic pulse through the minds of all the gods on Olympus that will bend them absolutely to his will..." my Dad said calmly, as if talking about the weather.

Nico, Bianca and I stared at him.

"Please tell me you said that just to get our attention." I said weakly.

"I'm afraid not." My dad said. "Lady Artemis gave us the vague outlines of Zeus' plan- she heard it from Hephstasus, whom Zeus had had design the machine. Lord Hephstasus has since disappeared, which is unfortunate." My dad sighed. "If we had some way of contacting him, we might have been able to find a different way to sabotage the machine."

"A different way?" Nico asked.

"All we really know about the device," Hades said "Is that it needs an extremely powerful electric pulse to work. Such a charge can only be given by the master bolt- Zeus' symbol of power. Obviously, we cannot allow him to use this device- mortals have only avoided being completely enslaved by Zeus because the rest of our family protects them. It's a shame they couldn't have protected them from the offset but-"

"They protect them nonetheless." My Dad said firmly. "If Zeus takes control of their minds, then that last layer of protection is gone. We have to stop him using it. Well, I say we. I mean the three of you."

"Why us?" We said almost simultaneously.

Hades and Poseidon exchanged glances. Then my dad said "Because the moment we leave Antarsia's borders, Zeus will find out we're still alive. He didn't just exile us, he tried to scatter our Essence throughout... basically, he intended to vaporise us. Anyway the point is, Camp Antarsia's border keeps Zeus from knowing we're in charge of the rebellion; we step outside of the borders, we automatically appear on Zeus' radar and he'll probably fry the entire continent to try and destroy us."

"Oh."

"How exactly are we supposed to stop the Lord of the sky detonating his mind control machine?" I asked

"And why can't Artemis do it? Or Athena or Hermes or someone?" Nico added with a frown.

"As I said before, with Hephaestus' disappearance there's now no one left who knows anything about the machine except how Zeus plans to turn it on."

"With the Master Bolt," I said. "But what-"

No way. No. Freaking. Way.

"You want us to steak the master bolt." I whispered.

My dad nodded, suddenly seeming old and tired. "We know it's a lot. And If I could get one of the other gods to do it and promise them shelter here I would. But the Gods of Olympus can't steal each other's symbols of power, and Hades and I can't leave the camp's borders without creating a whole host of problems. Only a hero can go anywhere, challenge anyone." He paused. "You three are heroes. The best we have - the best anyone has."

I felt myself fill with pride. Dad only says something he genuinely means. "We'll do it." I promised.

"Yeah." Nico added. "I mean, we have permission to nick a weapon more powerful than a nuclear bomb? That's kinda awesome ."

Bianca, however, was not looking convinced. "We're short of time" she said slowly, echoing Hades' earlier words. With a sinking feeling, I too remembered that there was some sort of deadline coming up.

"He's going to activate it soon, isn't he?" I groaned.

"Before he disappeared, Hephaestus had arranged to meet with the main dissenters on Olympus - Artemis, Hermes, Athena, Apollo, and Hestia- to give them the full details of the machine. They know what it can do; they know how Zeus is going to power it - and they've made an educated guess as to when he's going to activate it."

"When?" Nico asked, suddenly sounding a lot less excited.

Hades met our eyes and said: "When his power is at its strongest"

"Summer Solstice. June 21st." My dad grimaced apologetically.

June the 21st. _June the 21__st_ "But that's only a week away." I whispered. On either side of me, the di Angelo twins had gone almost as pale as their father.


	5. We begin Our Quest

We Begin Our Quest.

I was seriously contemplating asking my Uncle if I could go to the underworld _now _and spare the judges of the dead worrying about whether or not being fried by my own uncle was heroic or not.

Alright, so maybe that's a little bit of an exaggeration.

I wasn't planning on asking my Uncle at all.

Beside me, Nico looked as if he was going to throw up. Bianca ran her hand through her hair. "A week." She said shakily. "A week."

"How come we didn't hear about this sooner?" I blurted out.

"Hephstasus completed the machine two days ago, after which he told Artemis the basics and asked her to gather the others for a meeting. They met that afternoon- except Hephaestus had vanished. They spent all of yesterday looking for him and they came to us today." Hades said. "Why my nephew even built it in the first place-"

"Brother," my dad chided "Zeus is in control of Camp Half Blood, remember, and given his recent behaviour I have no reason to believe he is above using demi-gods as hostages."

"Camp Half Blood." I said with a frown, "That's where the above-board demi-god children go isn't it? Could they help- they would be able to get on to Olympus easier."

My dad shook his head "Out of the question. Most Demi-Gods are raised in Camp Half Blood from birth, taught loyalty to Zeus first and their parents second. Those who live the early part of their life in the outside world would be able to see Zeus isn't quite as brilliant as his claims- but they wouldn't be allowed on Olympus either."

There was a depressed silence. "So." Nico said finally. "A week to save the world."

"Yeah." My dad said. "Pretty much."

"Then we're wasting time." Nico said quietly. "We can't change it by hanging around here moaning at the deadline- we've got to make the most of the time we have left."

"When did you get so grown up and wise?" Bianca said softly.

"When the only other option is peeing my pants." Said Nico, grinning suddenly "Which isn't really an option, 'cause that would be _so_ embarrassing-"

"Okay, okay" Bianca held up her hands in surrender "Enough info, brother."

"We should go pack." I said, feeling slightly less freaked out at the prospect of having just seven days to get to Olympus, steal the bolt and get as far away from Zeus as possible as I realised that whatever happened, Bianca, Nico and I would be in it together.

"That's already done" a soft voice said from the doorway. A voice I would know anywhere, no matter how long it had been since I'd heard it last. "Mom?" I asked turning towards the doorway. She smiled, a blue back pack slung over her shoulder. Next to her , my Auntie Maria held another back pack, although this one was in black.

A word about my mom and auntie, by the way. They are, apart from my cousins, my favourite people on earth- more so than my Dad and Hades because, although they are, technically Queens (Amphrite and Persephone chose to end their marriages when their husbands fell from grace), they never act in a royal manner, whilst my dad and uncle have to, sometimes. They are both the kindest, most beautiful people on earth, which goes to prove a little theory I have : the best people always have the worst luck.

Both mom and Auntie Maria can see through the Mist, which is a really, really bad thing if you live outside camp Antarsia. They were captured by a bounty hunter, who took them up to Olympus so the gods could use them as sex-slaves. There are thousands of women who end up there, from all other the world. Fortunately, most of the gods visit the Harem with the sole intention of helping the women escape. Mom and Auntie Maria both met soon after their arrival on Olympus and began to plot their escape. They became the ringleaders of a rebellion amongst the captive women ; they even codenamed their escape plan "Operation Artemisia". Before they could put their daring plan into action, however (it involved toothpaste, perfume, hair ribbons, nail polish and several combs, in case you're wondering) Apollo accidently left his sun-chariot-mini-bus thingy in the Harem. He also accidently left the door wide open. And the keys in the ignition. And a manual on how to drive it. And a note saying "Go for it, sweethearts!" Anyway, my mom, Auntie Maria and about a hundred other girls drove off Olympus in the sun.

Unfortunately, Zeus found out. Apollo was placed under temple-arrest. And then he used the Master bolt to blast the chariot out of the sky.

My dad picked up the signals the master bolt was giving out a second before the chariot plunged in to the sea. He managed to save several of the girls, including my mom, but the others, including Maria di Angelo, were killed. This, in case you haven't guessed, is where Hades comes in. See, Hades had learned to love his younger brother - like he did in Kronos' stomach, before Zeus came along . He knew my dad loved my mom way before my dad even realised it, and he knew that seeing my mom said about Maria's death in particular made my dad sad. So, being the god of the underworld, he brought Maria back to life. And promptly fell in love with her.

My mom gave me one of her small, soft smiles, the one that said : I love you Percy. And I know you have to do this, but make sure you come back in one piece okay. I smiled in return.

"I guessed when I heard Artemis was here there would be trouble of a questing nature" She said.

"Oh, there is trouble." My aunt declared "Big trouble. You and you," she said jabbing a finger at my father and uncle "You are in very hot water, and before you say anything, Poseidon." She added "It is _not _the sort of water you can control."

"And yet you have packed a bag for the twins, my dear" Hades said with a soft smile, the sort of smile only Maria di Angelo can make him give. "Unless, of course, you intend to go with Percy."

She tossed her head imperiously. "What can I say? If there father will put them in danger, their mother must make it the safest danger possible." There was a sorrow in her eyes as she said this, and I realised that no matter how joking her tone was, Maria di Angelo was worried about her children- a worry I could see in my own mom's face. "We'll be fine" I said, a lump in my throat suddenly. "I promise" My mom smiled again, and tossed me the backpack. I caught it; Nico caught the one Maria tossed to him.

"I don't want to know what you are doing" she declared. "But I am warning you, Hades." she glared at her husband. "If it involves your crazy brother, you are deader than your dead spirits waiting in your EZ death line."

Hades looked uncomfortable, but didn't open his mouth to confess to her exactly what we were about to do. I looked at Nico and recognised a mischievous glint in his eye- he had come to the same conclusion I had. The god of the underworld was ever so slightly afraid of the wrath of his human, mortal wife. We were _so_ using that as blackmail when we got back. If we got back.

"I guess we'd better go then" Bianca sighed.

"No goodbyes." My mom said quickly. "This isn't good bye" I nodded. "

"We'll see you." I said.

" You'd better." My dad smiled. He paused , seeming to consider something. Then he reached into his pocket and brought out three pearls, passing them over to me. "If you need a hasty exit, crush these under your feet. They'll get you to safety, but only use them in an emergency. Zeus will be able to detect them, he'll know I'm still alive. But that secret isn't worth you dying for." He added sternly. "Just don't use them to cut out a fifteen minute walk."

"I think the trip from here to Manhattan's going to be a whole lot longer than a fifteen minute walk." Grumbled Nico.

If Manhattan _had_ been a fifteen minute walk away, our quest would have been fine. That's how far we made it without running in to a problem.

Jay was waiting for us at the borders, a box in his hand.

"What do you want?" Nico spat, every muscle tensing, his hand going to Koraki's black hilt.

"Ignore my brother." Bianca said, her tone promising Nico Really Big Trouble.

"Nico kinda had a point" I said, leaping to the defence of my cousin.

Bianca shot me a glare.

"I, uh... I just wanted to give Bianca this." Jay stuttered, taking the lid off the box. Inside was a gold necklace, baring a tiny gold head of Medusa. "It, uh, it was my sister's. It's supposed to bring healing and protection. The roomer mill's already saying you three are up to something dangerous, so..."

Bianca took the necklace. "Thank you." She said honestly. She fastened it around her neck, and smiled at Jay softly. I felt a sudden surge of jealously. Bianca never smiled at me or Nico like that.

Nico was staring intently at Jay with loathing in his eyes. "Thank you." He said sarcastically. "You've given my sister the head of the ugliest bitch in history."

"Actually Nico," said Bianca sweetly, "The ugliest bitch in history would be you. Come on." She snapped, wheeling around and marching out of Camp Antarsia. Nico and I followed her.

Behind us, Jay called us "Good Luck!" , but none of us, not even Bianca, turned to acknowledge him.

We continued our journey in stony silence. Nico was looking miserable, and I walked beside him, wanting to say something to cheer him up but not quite knowing what I could say without annoying Bianca. For her part, she kept a head of us and didn't say a word.

I sighed to myself.

If we continued in a similar vein, the next week was going to be the longest in human history.


	6. The Dream (plus dark side cookies)

**A/N Sorry it's been so long! I've had a load of exams, both internal and external. Hopefully I'll be able to update more regularly now. I don't own Percy Jackson.**

We made camp in an abandoned house a good hundred and sixty or so miles away from camp Antarsia. Nico conjured skeleton look outs, and I began to unpack my bag.

On top of my sleeping bag, I found a bag full of bright blue cookies.

"Your mom," Nico said. "Is awesome." I opened the bag and tossed him a cookie.

"You want one B?" I asked.

"what, come to the dark side, we have cookies?" She asked flatly.

Nico sighed. "Look, Bianca...I'm sorry, okay?"

I nearly choked on my cookie. Nico never, ever , apologized. He continued "I don't like Jay. I think it's weird that you know him for five seconds and you act like he's your best friend- and this happens right before a quest?"

"We didn't know about the quest when I met him!" Bianca snapped.

"I know." Nico sounded unusually gentle. "And I think we should forget about him until the quest is over. We can argue about this when we don't have to work together as a team."

Ah, postponing the argument. Now _that_ was more like Nico. By the time we had the lightning bolt he'd have come up with a million solid arguments about why Bianca should stay the Hades away from Jay- or possibly just of warned Hades Jay was potentially going to ask Bianca out. Jay would stand no chance against the god of the underworld, even if he was a demon-monster-thing.

Bianca was silent for a moment. Then: "I'm joining the dark side" she sighed. Nico and I both stared at her, blue biscuits halfway to our mouths.

"Pass me the cookies!" she grinned. I passed the cookies.

_The storm was intense. Terrifying. Lightning flickered and thunder boomed. A black horse reared, hooves slashing at a golden eagle. The bird let out a harsh cry and dived down, talons pointed towards the horse's eyes. More lightning flickered. I thought I saw a shape in the clouds, a face. It looked like someone familiar but I couldn't think who. Spray hit my face. Water. The sea. The animals had gone. I heaved a sigh of relief, everything was fine_

**_Από τους τρεις που αγωνίζονται οι δύο θα πέσουν / Ο θάνατος Angels στην καταδίκη σε όλους σας / το μυστικό κρυμμένο, η απάντηση έχασε / σπάσουμε την σφραγίδα, αλλά με τι κόστος; / σύντομα έρχεται η ώρα του θανάτου της Olympus / η forgotton θα ξυπνήσει, το σκοτάδι μια αύξηση ._**

_Of three who fight two will fall / The Angels death to doom you all/ the secret hidden, the answer lost/ break the seal but at what cost?/ soon comes the hour of Olympus's demise/ the forgotten will wake, the dark one rise._

_It seemed like garbled, jumbled nonsense, but at the same time, those words gave me a feeling of cold dread._

_Another lightning strike, anther thunder crash._

Bianca, Nico and I woke up at exactly the same time.


	7. Interlude

**A/N Percy Jackson isn't mine! I apologize for the delay in updating- I have really bad writers block. This is really an interlude instead of chapter...and it isn't Percy's point of view...**

Interlude I

Demi God fear. He loved the scent of it, echoing throughout the mortal and godly world. That was why he sent the Nightmare. He could feel, through the medallion his boy had planted on Death's girl, her increased, frantic heart.

If he had a corporeal form, he would smile. Possibly. Why the girl? Death's son was infinitely stronger than his twin. The Ocean's boy was also strong, but the girl? Average at best. Why could his boy have not given the necklace to one of the other boys?

No matter. His boy did his best. And when the world was his, he would reward the boy handsomely.

"Maria? Maria!"

Maria di Angelo started out of her reverie to find Sally standing next to her, looking concerned.

"Maria? Are you alright, sister?"

The beautiful Italian shook her head, dark eyes wide and filled with fear.

"I'm afraid. So very afraid for my children. Sally..." Maria bit her lip. "I do not think they will both come home."

**And...That's it! Sorry. With thanks to everyone who has favourite/followed/reviewed! It will probably be another three or four weeks till I update again, but I will try and so it sooner!**


End file.
